Emperor Yan governs the country very carefully, and he is a person who strives for excellence. As soon as he had time, he went to various tribes in Shennong Country to inspect and visit. Emperor Yan visited many places, and he saw that everyone was basically well-fed and clothed, and they could live and work in peace and contentment, and people's lives were getting richer and richer. This made Emperor Yan very happy.

One day, Emperor Yan followed the river to a wetland plain, and he walked to the edge of a newly cultivated field and saw that people were planting rice in the paddy fields. So, he went to the field himself and worked side by side with everyone. Everyone saw that Emperor Yan was coming, and their motivation was even stronger.

While resting, Emperor Yan asked everyone, "Children, I am here to help you, if you need anything, please tell me." ”

At this time, the patriarch of the paddy field tribe said, "Emperor Yan, in recent years, we have had a bumper harvest of rice here. There is also a lot of grain left over from the previous season, and it is estimated that by the time the new rice comes down, we will not be able to eat up the accumulated rice in two or three years. If this is the case, the accumulated rice will be easily wormed, and the grain will not taste good if it is eaten by insects. Emperor Yan, in order not to waste food, can you think of a way to take our food and give it to those who need it, and let us also get what we need from those who get it, so that we don't kill two birds with one stone? ”

Emperor Yan thought for a moment and said happily: "Child, it's really good that you think of this method. If we all use our surplus goods to exchange what we need from others. This method of bartering items with each other is the best way to achieve the purpose of everyone taking what they need. This is convenient for both ourselves and others, and it can be said to be a good way to get the best of both worlds, so we might as well give it a try. ”

The patriarch asked Emperor Yan, "Emperor Yan, what is the test method?" ”

Emperor Yan said: "Children, if you can trust me, I will borrow some rice from you first, and after a while, I will come back to pay you other things." Can you see if this works? ”

Of course, everyone is very much in favor of it. So, Emperor Yan made three baskets out of grass blades, and he carried three baskets of rice on his back to the tribes along the lake that made a living from fishing. When they arrived at the lake, the fishermen were very happy to see that Emperor Yan had brought rice.

The patriarch of the lakeside tribe told Emperor Yan that the people here could not eat any other food because they lived by fishing all year round. Therefore, everyone here is yellow and thin, and they are not very healthy.

Emperor Yan said: "Child, because I am also entrusted by others, I will exchange a basket of rice for your basket of fish." ”

So, the fishermen happily left the paddy behind. At the same time, they also handed over a basket of fresh fish to Emperor Yan. Then, Emperor Yan also taught the fishermen how to eat it. In the end, Emperor Yan said goodbye to everyone, he carried rice and fresh fish, and went to the tribe that cultivated millet and millet on the slopes.

Emperor Yan walked for nearly half a day before he came to a sloping land. He crossed the dry stream, skirted the forks that crisscrossed him, and met in front of him a field of wilting crops. The green gauze tent grew to be half a person tall, but before the tassels were hung on it, it was about to wither and yellow, and the people with thin and pointed leaves were in pain.

Emperor Yan saw that all the roads were blocked by this land, and he could only shuttle between the green gauze tents. Suddenly, a drop of bird poop landed on his face, and Emperor Yan looked up, and a flock of chickadees chirped and flew around overhead. Emperor Yan looked behind him inexplicably, and it turned out that the group of were eating the fish and rice in the back basket. Angry, Emperor Yan shouted, and the flock of scattered in a hurry.

As soon as Emperor Yan took a few steps, the group of came to steal food again, and Emperor Yan had to blast them away as he walked. Finally arrived at the slope tribe, and when the people there saw that Emperor Yan had brought rare things, they happily surrounded Emperor Yan and danced.

Emperor Yan was afraid that the fresh fish would stink, so he poured out the fresh fish. Emperor Yan first asked everyone to clean the fish, and he asked everyone to find some firewood and grass. Then, Emperor Yan found a piece of dry firewood and drilled wood to make a fire. A bonfire was lit, and the fresh fish was dressed on small sticks and then roasted on the fire.

Before the grilled fish was fully cooked, the fragrance spread, and the adults stared at the fish on the fire and smacked their mouths, and the children were drooling around a campfire.

After eating the grilled fish, the patriarch here "Chen Yao" said: "Emperor Yan, since you are here, stay with us for a few more days." Now, it's the farming season here, so we might as well have fun together. ”

Emperor Yan laughed when he heard this: "It seems that everyone is a person who loves life very much, and it's good for me to stay here." But I can't eat and drink here for nothing, that would be a bit of a disgrace. ”

At this time, Chen Yao said mysteriously: "Emperor Yan, in fact, we have also encountered some troubles, and now we are not as idle as I said. Because in the past six months, the weather here has been very dry, and there has been no rain on the ground. When we inquired, we found out that it was a monster at work. We've also heard that the monster is afraid of the sound of the strings. So we wanted to make a stringed instrument and use the sound of the instrument to scare the monster away. Recently, we got a good piece of wood. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I haven't been able to make this instrument yet. Now, we are looking forward to the rain, and we don't know if Emperor Yan can help us. ”

After Emperor Yan heard what Chen Yao said, he quickly put away his smile and said eagerly: "Children, when I was on the way here just now, I saw that our crops are so dry that we are about to lose our crops. Since I'm here, how can I see death and not save me? I can help as much as I can. Didn't you say you were going to make a harp to exorcise demons? Bring me the piece of wood. ”

When Chen Yao saw that Emperor Yan agreed to come down, he asked people to quickly bring the wood over. Emperor Yan took it and took a look, this was a slightly thicker and slightly oblate fine paulownia wood, and there were light brown annual rings on it.

Emperor Yan held the paulownia wood in his hand, and he looked at the two ends again, calling it square or not, and it was called round or not, and it was a little nondescript. Emperor Yan thought of an idea, so he used a stone knife to flatten it at both ends, leaving five small raised piles at each end, and he hollowed out the middle of the paulownia wood. Then, Emperor Yan chiseled small holes into each raised part.

After doing this, Emperor Yan went around again, and brought horsehair, hemp rope, and leather thread in his hand. Emperor Yan threaded them into the small holes at both ends in order, and then straightened them one by one. In the end, he chose the long mane of the strongest wild dragon horse to make the strings. When all five strings are tightened and straightened, the "five-stringed instrument" is ready.

This five-stringed instrument is three feet six inches and six minutes long, and half as wide as it is. When someone plucks the five-stringed piano, the strings will emit five different sounds: gong, shang, horn, emblem, and feather.

Emperor Yan plucked the strings, and a heavenly sound rose. Emperor Yan was immediately in high spirits, he picked up the five-stringed piano and played a song, and the melodious sound of the piano spread across the open field.

Emperor Yan played the piano while closing his eyes and listening carefully to the sound of the strings. He thinks it's the best sound in the world. It can not only express the virtue of heaven and earth, but also make people's mood more happy.

Strange to say, perhaps the monster was really afraid of the sound of the strings. Just after Emperor Yan played the five-stringed piano for seven consecutive days, in the sunny day of one afternoon, I saw thunder in the sky and dark clouds rolling.

Just when the lightning flashed and thundered and the wind howled, Emperor Yan played the five-stringed harp again, and the people also knelt down and prayed sincerely to the sky. A blast struck the monster just as it struck it, and just as it was about to escape, it was shattered by the thunderbolt.

Immediately afterwards, I saw heavy rain coming from the distant mountains and near the forest. In the rain, the dry grass raised its head, and the crops in the field straightened up. For a time, the torrential rain has been raining all day, and the ravines are full of ravines.

Emperor Yan saw that this five-stringed piano was really powerful, and the monster was also reimbursed. He said excitedly: "Chenyao, after a few heavy rains, it is expected that our crops will be able to have a bumper harvest." You might as well learn to compose a 'Song of Harvest Year', and when the harvest season comes, let everyone celebrate this year's harvest." ”

Chen Yao also said: "Yes, Emperor Yan, this time the demon is eliminated thanks to this 'five-stringed harp'." I think let's call it 'Shennongqin'. ”

Emperor Yan finished the Shennong qinqin, he said goodbye to everyone, took two baskets of millet and millet, and continued to hurry. On this day, Emperor Yan came to the tribe inhabited by the Red Wings. It was a dry plateau, and when he reached the Red Wing, he found that the adults and children were happily playing with the dirt.

Emperor Yan felt very strange, so he asked the patriarch of Chiyi, and he said, "Child, what are you doing here?" ”

The patriarch said: "Emperor Yan, we produce a kind of clay here, because this clay is very sticky and not easy to crack. Therefore, we add water and mud to it in a certain proportion, and then make it into mud of various shapes. Then we dry these mud blanks in the sun, and then roast them over a fierce fire, and they become various utensils for our daily use. ”

Emperor Yan felt that it was very fresh, so he picked up a piece of wet mud and held it in his hand, pinched it three times and pinched it twice, and really pinched it into a shape he wanted. Emperor Yan pinched it into a little clay figure again, hey! Not to mention, it's a little bit like that.

The patriarch said in surprise: "Emperor Yan, Nuwa Niangniang may have made people like this by making mud, right?" You might as well make a few of them. ”

Emperor Yan said modestly: "Children, don't lift me up, I don't have that ability, and I really can't make clay figures." I think that back then, Nuwa Niangniang used fairy tears and space soil and loess and mud as blanks, and used the merit of creating people to protect the treasure to cast magic on the clay figures one by one, and then each blew a breath of fairy breath on them, and the little clay people had breath and came to life. I have neither immortal tears nor human merit treasures here. Besides, I don't have a fairy to brag about. How can a man be made out of clay? ”

The patriarch said with some pride: "Emperor Yan, let me tell you, we can't make clay figures, but we have created some things like this. They are fired at high temperatures, and they are not afraid of water or fire, and they can still hold things. Why don't I bring one over and take a look at it? ”

As he spoke, the patriarch casually gave Emperor Yan a baked utensil. Emperor Yan took it over and looked at it carefully. Ay! That's great! I saw that this instrument was round and deep, as big and round as a newborn full moon. It naturally recesses in the middle, and the recessed part can hold water, and it can also hold small things.

Emperor Yan was very happy with the achievements of the Red Wings. He asked the patriarch, "Son, that's good!" You guys are amazing! What kind of utensil is this? ”

The patriarch said: "Emperor Yan, we haven't named it yet, so you can give it one." ”

Emperor Yan smiled and picked up another utensil, this time he took a jar. I saw that the jar was thick in the middle, small at both ends, and it had a grip like an ear on each side.

Emperor Yan looked at the jar, and he made a word based on the shape of the jar. He said: "Children, if this kind of firing clay tire utensils, let's call it 'pottery'." ”

When the patriarch heard this, he quickly took the lead in applauding. Emperor Yan took advantage of everyone's happiness, so he recommended three baskets of grain to everyone.

Emperor Yan said: "Children, since you have made pottery, I think we will put these kinds of grain in the pottery and steam it to see if it is better than the grain from the barbecue." ”

The patriarch came to ask for merit again: "Emperor Yan, you can rest assured, because we have pottery that specializes in cooking grain, and it is called 'Ding'." The pottery is a little shallower than the clay pot and a little deeper than the clay bowl you just saw, and we've already used it to cook food. Because it is fired at high temperatures, it is not easy to break when steaming food. ”

So, under the leadership of the patriarch, everyone hurriedly built three bonfires. They added enough water to the three pottery tripods, poured in three kinds of grain each, and then used three stones to support each pottery tripod, and began to add fire to the fire.

In a short time, the fragrant rice is ready. The patriarch asked everyone to bring pottery bowls, and everyone used the bowls to serve rice, and broke some small branches from the tree, and everyone pulled the food into their mouths with the branches.

It was the first time Emperor Yan had seen such a formation, and it was the first time he had eaten such a meal. This kind of boiled rice is sweet and sweet, soft and glutinous, and it is really delicious. After all, the grilled rice is dry and hard, not easy to swallow, and easy to burn. Comparatively speaking, this way of eating is too enjoyable.

Emperor Yan looked at everyone sitting together, and one person was holding a pottery bowl and eating it very fragrant. He nodded and said happily, "Children, I thank you!" Thanks to your invention of pottery, I have such delicious cooked rice. I think that in the future, we people in Shennong will soon be able to taste this kind of cooked food that is completely different from the taste of barbecue. This is the blessing of Shennong, and it is also the blessing of the people of the world. Thank you! ”

When the patriarch saw Emperor Yan's praise, he said a little flutteringly: "Emperor Yan, you don't need to thank us, we should do what we can for everyone." Now, we have not only made bowls and tripods for eating, but also pottery utensils for storing grain and water, such as urns, jars, basins, butterflies, plates, and other pottery utensils. ”

Emperor Yan smiled: "Not bad, not bad! Children, I want to exchange grain for you a few pieces of pottery, would you like to? ”

The patriarch said, "Why not? Emperor Yan, let me tell you the truth, because we are a dry highland here, so the food we produce is not enough to eat. It would be great if we could exchange pottery for the food we need. ”

So, Emperor Yan left the rice and millet to them, and then, he left the Chiyi tribe with a few pieces of pottery and millet on his back, all the way back.

On this day, Emperor Yan traveled to a mountain forest. Because the sky was overcast, and he could not see the sunrise and sunset, he actually got lost. Emperor Yan looked up and saw that the mountains were covered with dense forests, and when he heard it carefully, it seemed that there was still the sound of wild beasts howling.

Emperor Yan didn't dare to move forward, so he came to a small river, drank saliva, washed his face, and rested for a while. Emperor Yan was napping when he was awakened by a rapid cry, only to see a tiger chasing a goat.

The goats bleated and ran for their lives, and they were about to be overtaken by the tigers. At this moment, I saw a slender wooden strip "whooshing" out of the mountain forest. The stick was stuck in the tiger's neck, and the tiger fell with it, and the goat fled.

Emperor Yan was dumbfounded, and he was feeling strange when he saw another person suddenly appearing in the mountains and forests. The man was five big and three thick, black and red, and he was carrying a long and crooked thing behind him, and the branches of the tree had cut wounds on his body.

When the man came to the tiger's side and saw that the tiger was dead, he pulled his lips and whistled. Emperor Yan went over to greet him and asked what the man was carrying.

The man asked suspiciously, "Are you?" ”

Emperor Yan smiled: "I am Emperor Yan!" ”

The man was shocked, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed in front of Emperor Yan.

The man said, "Emperor Yan, what gust of wind blew your old man here?" ”

Emperor Yan smiled again: "Oops! It was my tailwind feet that brought me here. Strongman, what are you carrying here? How can you be so powerful that you can fight tigers across the mountains. ”

The strong man said: "Emperor Yan, I have a wooden bow on my back. I pulled the wooden bow apart, and with a wooden arrow, it was so powerful that I could shoot my prey in a few dozen steps. Whenever the prey encounters this bow and arrow, it can only get such an end like this tiger. ”

Emperor Yan was very relieved to hear this, and he said, "Child, I'm really happy for you." Those of you who rely on the mountains to eat are mainly hunters. You invented this bow and arrow, and you made hunting easier. The use of bows and arrows can also effectively combat the encroachment of beasts, and effectively protect the safety of people's lives and property. ”

While the two were talking, they saw a large group of people coming to Hulala, and the strong man turned out to be the patriarch of the mountain and forest tribe. The patriarch hurriedly introduced Emperor Yan to everyone. After everyone saluted Emperor Yan, they lifted the tiger and hugged Emperor Yan and walked towards the mountains and forests.

The Shanlin tribe entertained Emperor Yan with tiger meat, and Emperor Yan also left his rice and two pieces of pottery to the mountain people, who gave Emperor Yan a piece of tiger meat in return. Then, Emperor Yan returned to the paddy field tribe with tiger meat, millet and pottery. After leaving the exchanged items, Emperor Yan returned to Lianshan.

Emperor Yan returned to Lianshan and hurriedly convened a meeting of his ministers. Because, through the past few days, Emperor Yan thought of an important question. It is to quickly let the people meet everyone's individual needs through mutual exchange methods.

Emperor Yan said emotionally: "Ladies and gentlemen, because everyone can diligently engage in all kinds of production labor according to the right time and place. Therefore, with the joint efforts of everyone, our living conditions are getting better and better, and the things we eat are becoming more and more sufficient. However, our material needs are also getting higher and higher. In order to enrich everyone's life, I suggest that we send some people to trade goods in various tribes, do you think it will work? ”

A minister said, "Emperor Yan, I don't think this is appropriate. Because people mainly work, if they spend a lot of time going out to trade goods, they will probably delay their own labor time, which may not work. ”

Another minister said: "Emperor Yan, I think we might as well find a fixed place and let everyone trade at a fixed point according to a certain time." ”

Emperor Yan nodded and said, "That's a good idea!" But where are we going to go? ”

The first minister to speak said: "Emperor Yan, we might as well choose the middle of the geography of Shennong Kingdom, so that everyone can visit the city nearby." ”

The second minister who spoke said: "Emperor Yan, I suggest that we set a time for everyone to trade at noon, and the market will open in the morning and close in the afternoon." ”

Emperor Yan smiled heartily and said, "Not bad! Very good! Kids, let's set the location of the mutual market in the slope tribe for the time being. Let's pilot here first, and if it's good, let's expand the market and set up a few more mutual market locations. ”

A minister said: "Emperor Yan, what should I do next?" ”

Emperor Yan said: "Let's send a few people to the slope tribe to open up a market first, and then send a few people to each tribe to issue notices. Let everyone go to the slope tribe to celebrate the opening of the market on the first day of the new year next month. Let me tell you, from now on, our 'day and middle market' has begun. ”

In autumn and August, the golden wind is cool, the fruit is full of branches, the jade millet bends over, and the chrysanthemum is fragrant. On the first day of the new year, the market will open in the middle of the day.

It was still early, and Emperor Yan and the people came to the market early. They lit a bonfire, and the side was filled with cooked pieces of meat of birds and beasts, all kinds of rice balls, wild fruits, and wild flowers in clay pots and bowls. Everyone worships the god of fire, water, rain, wind, and rice around the bonfire, in order to pray that God will bless the land of Shenzhou with good wind and rain, abundant crops, and peace on the earth.

As soon as the time came, Emperor Yan used the Shennong Qin to play the "Song of the Harvest Year" arranged by Chenyao. At the same time, Chen Yao led everyone to sing the dance song "The Joy of Ploughing" made up by him.

At this time, the surrounding people also danced a joyful farming dance to the sound of the piano, playing the reed pipe flute, and beating the beat. Suddenly, the whole day market was filled with a cheerful and peaceful atmosphere.

After everyone sang and danced, they took out the grains, birds and beasts, fish and shrimp, wild fruits, as well as dried animal skins and woven linen, pottery made of clay, pestle mortars made of stones, etc., and all kinds of items were placed all over the place. In the end, everyone picked what their tribe needed in exchange, and they came happy and satisfied.

Since then, every year after the autumn harvest, Emperor Yan has to convene everyone to hold such a wax sacrifice party. to celebrate the annual harvest. Since then, everyone has retained the good habit of being a market in Japan and China.

Emperor Yan governed the world very well, and his people were well-fed and carefree. Many tribes are developing very slowly, and people starve to death every day. When they saw that Shennong was so rich, they were very angry and came to rob the property and food here.

When Emperor Yan saw outsiders coming to rob, he was not angry. And he also told the people who grabbed things: "Brothers, I am glad that you have come here, and you are welcome. We are brothers with the same mother and the same big family. Why do you use robbery and plunder to make people unhappy? Brothers, we should join hands to value harmony, and coexistence and co-prosperity are the preferred laws in the world. ”

Therefore, Emperor Yan invited everyone to come to Shennong Kingdom to learn their advanced methods, and sent experienced personnel to personally guide them. Later, many fraternal tribes gained experience from here. When they returned, they spread these experiences far and wide.